Alleged discrimination and negligence at Seattle Children's hospital caused a teen's demise, claims the family in a lawsuit.
A family from Seattle is suing the Seattle Children's Hospital, Children's University Medical Group and several unnamed healthcare workers after their daughter Sahana Ramesh passed away due to eosinophilic myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
Sahana died in February 2021, according to court documents. The lawsuit was initially filed by Sahana's parents, Nalini and Anapathur Ramesh, and their son, Karthik, for alleged negligence but was later amended to include racial discrimination claims.
Recently, a judge denied the hospital's motion to dismiss the discrimination claim, as reported by court documents. The judge noted that the family had "plausibly alleged harm, including dignitary harm, resulting from unlawful discrimination—not from healthcare."
Sahana, a South Asian, had been seeking medical treatment at the Seattle Children's Hospital since August 2020 due to recurring seizures. A hospital neurologist prescribed her lamotrigine, a drug used to prevent or control seizures. The dosage was increased twice within a short period.
Soon after, Sahana developed a severe rash in several body parts. After a few days, her condition got worse, and she was admitted to the emergency department, where she was diagnosed with a drug allergy called Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms or DRESS.
DRESS causes fever, rash, facial swelling, swollen lymph nodes, liver or kidney injury, and organ inflammation in some cases.
The family claims that despite their numerous visits to the hospital over nearly three months, their daughter's symptoms didn't improve. Lab results showed deterioration in her liver function and other organ functions. The lawsuit alleges that, despite being told about their daughter's deteriorating health, the hospital assured the family that she could be cared for at home.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Seattle Children's Hospital stated, "Our hearts go out to any family mourning the loss of a child, and we take our responsibility to provide equitable, high-quality care seriously, but we cannot comment on this specific case due to pending litigation."
CNN has reached out to Children's University Medical Group for comment.
Attorney Steve Berman, representing the Ramesh family, labels Sahana's death as "an avoidable tragedy" caused by negligence and a lack of informed consent. "We believe this was a preventable incident rooted in widespread racism at the hospital," Berman said in a statement.
The lawsuit points to several countable cases of racism at the hospital, leading to a 2021 independent review of equity, diversity and inclusion policies and practices. The review found faults in the hospital's handling of certain cases, including inadequate investigations into a 2009 incident where a physician reportedly used a racist slur, and a lack of efforts to minimize racial disparities in security calls, among other concerns.
The Ramesh family's attorneys claim in the lawsuit that they felt "ignored and dismissed during interactions with medical staff and felt that they were not welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited at SCH." They further allege that the hospital staff neglected to monitor Sahana's heart condition and failed to inform them of the risk of cardiac failure associated with DRESS.
The family seeks unspecified damages in the lawsuit.
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The Ramesh family, who are suing the Seattle Children's Hospital, accused the hospital of neglecting to monitor Sahana's heart condition and failing to inform them of the risk of cardiac failure associated with her condition, despite being her US-based care providers.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Ramesh family felt ignored and dismissed during their interactions with the hospital's medical staff, leading to a belief that they were not welcomed or solicited at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Source: edition.cnn.com
